CORPUS CHRISTI - The phrase a fan at the American Bank Center directed toward Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday evening was one many football teams hear.

"Go for two."

The problem: The Islanders don't have a football team. They were playing women's basketball.

As Lamar went to a zone defense, A&M-Corpus Christi got away from a midrange and attack-the-basket style that was at least allowing the Islanders to keep pace early. A shift to failed 3-point attempts allowed the Cardinals to break off a 15-2 run midway through the first half on the way to a 68-46 romp.

Straying toward the 3-point shot was but one issue in the Southland Conference contest, but it was the one that allowed the game to get away from A&M-Corpus Christi (1-20, 0-10).

During the run, which started 11 minutes into the game with the contest tied at 9, the Islanders made only a pair of free throws. They missed 15 shots from the floor, including eight 3-pointers.

A&M-Corpus Christi coach Royce Chadwick said the zone was the reason for the multitude of 3-pointers. But there was even a stretch in which the constant long-distance attempts caused him some angst.

With the Islanders trailing 14-9, the team grabbed four offensive rebounds on one trip down the court. The result — five missed shots, four from behind the 3-point line and none within five feet of the basket.

"When you get an offensive rebound, usually the defense is out of position," Chadwick said. "You are inside in the lane with an opportunity to put it back up. We've been a great rebound-and-put-back team this season. But we kept throwing them out and shooting another 3.

"That was the turning point of the first half. A lot of air came out of our balloon. We don't have much resiliency right now. If we miss a shot or two, we tend to hang our heads."

The Islanders ended 4 for 23 from beyond the 3-point arc, trying to use the long shot to work back into the game. But once Lamar (15-6, 8-3) grabbed that double-digit lead, the Cardinals never let it go.

Poor shooting was only one of the breakdowns. Lamar players either got behind the A&M-Corpus Christi defense or beat the Islanders down the court four times for easy layups.

The most glaring example came at the end of the first half when Cardinals guard Kalis Loyd hauled in a long pass for an easy layup with 11 seconds left to make it 32-17.

Compounding the miscue, the player responsible for defending Loyd came over to discuss the missed assignment with Chadwick while time ticked off the clock. Six seconds were lost before the Islanders inbounded the ball, and they did not get off a shot attempt before the half ended.

Those are just some of the issues that have caused A&M-Corpus Christi to drop 11 games in a row, which matches the second-longest in-season losing streak in program history and is the third-longest drought of all time for the Islanders.